So, the S-type is a splendid car when everything is working but it seems that hardly a week goes by where something doesn't play up. The trans is a lot better since it had new filter and oil but I still sometimes get the first gear lurch - a reflash may be the next move. Two days ago the ac on the passenger's side went full hot. On feeling the pipes from the dccv I decided the valve was faulty. Ordered a new one, which arrived this morning, this afternoon the old one was working perfectly. Doooohhh!. Got stuck in traffic, put the handbrake on and spent the rest of the journey with the "cannot apply parkbrake" message flashing at me. On the plus side I have been trying to chase down a minor coolant leak for the last month. While playing about with the dccv, I finally spotted it - a pipe that goes somewhere near the top of the rad to one of the pipes that disappear in to the dash, I think it is the return from the heater. It looks like someone has been clumsy with it and if it is flexed slightly a fine stream of water gushes enthusiastically in to the air. I thought my battery was getting weak but it is at about 12.25V after a night's rest, although the built in diags say it's 11.6! I am going to go away and sulk now, and try to recalibrate the park brake tomorrow.

 

Maybe there's a voltage drop. Check a few places in each fuse box / engine bay / etc.

A thought but usually no-one does any maintenance on the park brake cables, mechanism etc and of course that's a guarantee of failure sooner or later. You could get someone to watch as you try to apply the EPB but it probably all wants attention.

 

Why would you apply the hand brake when you are stuck in traffic?

That hose has given you a warning. Change all of your coolant hoses - NOW!

The car is over 10 years they are all decayed by this time. You will be replacing them one by one otherwise. Just be glad you don't have all the SC stuff too. It makes for a lot more hoses to change.
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Everyone loves "the lurch"!

 

Yes, I have some work to do :-) tbird, I put the brake on because I was sat for 10 minutes without moving. The hose was dodgy because someone had removed it at some time by sticking a screwdriver down the end of it to lever it off - at least that's what it looks like. The rad and header tank had been replaced just before I got it so I reckon it happened then. I will be going round the car with a DVM soon to see if I can work out what's going on with the voltage, the park brake will be properly looked at when it has warmed up a bit, I will try a recalibrate in the mean time.
Regards to all.

 

And these are the reasons I am slowly but surely, starting to dislike my car. I know its 12 years old but I have had older cars than this one that didn't have the problems this one does.

Reading this forum, its insane the common amount of "idiosyncratic" issues these cars have. No matter how hard I try to be matter of fact and just investigate and fix these issues, it does get annoying and I ask myself why own this car?
I thought it would be nice to own a Jaguar, but my interest is waning. Hopefully when all is complete on my car's to do list will it be more enjoyable. Until then.....

Sorry I can't be of technical help, but I empathize with you and wanted to share! Thanks

 

Even nostalgia's not what it used to be.

 

Yes, these are very complex and finicky cars that can be expensive to maintain. And, although I'm not sure that it would be much different with any other car in it's class (e.g., Audi, BMW, Merc), it can be maddening just the same.

So we all feel your pain.

I, for one, have been very lucky with the two Jaguars I've owned ('05 X-Type 3.0, '08 S-Type 4.2) and got them both with at least 1 year left on the CPO warranty. That allowed me to establish that each was working correctly and had no long-term problems. They both have been very reliable (except for the X-Type transfer case problem, but that was covered under warranty) and I expect them to stay that way.

I'm assuming that any problem I get in the foreseeable future will be singular in nature and that I will be able to afford to have it fixed. But that wouldn't be the case if I had a acquired a car with a list of latent issues waiting to reveal themselves one at a time.

So I guess what I'm saying is, that unless a person has a VERY GOOD understanding of the condition of a car I really wouldn't recommend anyone buying an S-Type any more... They are getting too old and the likelihood of significant problems is just increasing exponentially.

But Jaguars are very nice and when I finally conclude that the time is up for the S-Type I will be shopping for a 4-5 year old S-Type or XK (they still have the 5.0 NA engine... :-) with time left on the warranty.
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Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar

 

Let me say this, if I ever came across this forum before I was offered this car, I would have politely declined!

 

According to my local indy, this is exactly the case. 10-15 year old Mercs, Beemers, Audis etc are all getting to the same point where the cost and frequency of repairs are getting hard to live with.

The grass is not greener on the other side. We can all point to Honda Civics etc. of the same vintage that are still as stone reliable as they've always been, but they're not the same class of car when it comes to complexity.

 

Go read BMW, Audi etc forums and you'd make the same decision.

(Think why......)

 

Guys, you have to bite the bullet and stay on top of the maintenance. Granted, these cars require more time, attention, and money to maintain than most of us care to spend, but that's the nature of the beast as these vehicles continue to age. I wish our two Jaguars (both pushing 10 years old now) were as easy and inexpensive to maintain as my 1999 Dodge Ram pickup has been, but I knew going in that would never be the case. As has been stated thousands of times on this forum, if you cannot or will not DIY, these cars are not for you because they will eventually drain your bank account....

 

Some interesting comments here, thanks guys. At the end of the day the problems are no big deal. The handbrake issue does not matter to me at the moment - it goes in to park ok so it's not going to go down the road by itself in the middle of the night. The DCCV has decided to play up again so that's getting done on Tuesday. The valve is a bit of a pain to get to but it's only a couple of hours work hopefully, as long as it's done before the summer it's no big deal. The lurch I can also live with. None of the faults I have stop the car from being driven and enjoyed, sure I would like everything to be perfect but it's an old car, it cost less than 10% of it's new price, expecting perfection is perhaps a bit unrealistic. I don't mind spending some money on it, I think I got it at a bargain price so if I have to spend another £1k on it, that's fine with me.
I can do most jobs myself but sometimes simply can't be bothered. In such cases there is a small garage 1/2 a mile from me that charge £30 per hour for labour - that's not going to break the bank for the occasional small job.
Best wishes to all, try to keep smiling.